Welcome to The Other Side library. A site where you can read about the Nightmare and Atmosfear games. Enjoy!
Release Date: 1991
Faust's Rating: 9/10
Nightmare was the first game of its kind to be released in stores across the US, Canada, and Australia; and was first advertised on TV in the US around October of 1991. The game is played with 3-6 player that sit in a semi-circle around a TV where they put a video in a VCR and await further instructions, you have 60 minutes to win the game. The game starts with an intro where you see the front of the Nightmare box and then a middle-aged man cladded in a dark brown robe appears, this is the Gatekeeper. He then gives you a few instructions on how his game is played and then it goes to the timer, where he pops up in certain lengths and gives you numerous tasks or he just outright punishes you. The object of the game is to travel the clockwise graveyard gameboard in search of the six keys which unlocks the trail to Nightmare, where the coffin of fears is at. Once you have collected the six keys you must face your worst fear. If you choose your fear you must start over from scratch, but if you don't choose your fear then you must stop the game tape and you are declared the winner. Be warned though, the Gatekeeper comes up as lightning speed and he likes to play rough. Remember, when the Gatekeeper says ,"Answer me!" you must quickly reply back with ," Yes, my Gatekeeper!". I personally found this game to be excellent in every aspect and quite addicting in many cases.
Release Date: 1992
Faust's Rating: 8/10
At the end of the first Nightmare video there is an advertisement for Nightmare 2, where it shows the Baron coming up from a grave and then yelling "Thrill Me!". Nightmare 2 was released a few months after Nightmare was and your host in this one was not the Gatekeeper, but the zombie Baron Samedi. The game was played the same as Nightmare, but it the game had its own set of Fate cards and Time cards. The Baron proved to be a typical clown in the beggining, but later on he gave you many duties by giving you "ques" and making you add a lot of numbers together to win cards, free turns, and even keys. In the near end he becomes a very callous corpse who shoots down your pride and begins throwing vulgar obscenities at you. Remember, for when ole' Uncle Baron says ,"Thrill me!", you must stand straight up and say ," Yo Baron I can dig it!". This game is great and one of my favorites.
Release Date: 1993
Faust's Rating: 7/10
At the end of Nightmare 2 there is an ad for Nightmare 3 that shows the Witch cackling over a burnning cauldron. Nightmare 3 was released in mid-1993 and this time your host is the Witch Anne De Chantraine. The game still used the same rules as Nightmare and indeed had its own share of Fate cards and Time cards. The new exception to this game was that you rolled two dice and there are parts of spells hidden in the Fate cards. The Witch in this game starts out as aradiant young lady and soon begins to transform into a cackling crone that has an attitude like a raging furnace. This Nightmare extension was good and well played and introduced a female host instead of a male one. Remember for when the Witch says ,"Confess!" you must reply back with ,"Mea culpa Anne!".
Release Date: 1994
Faust's Rating: 8/10
At the end of Nightmare 3 there is a small ad for Nightmare 4 that just shows the game box and a guy talking about it. Nightmare 4 was released in mid-1994 and the host in this one is the Vampire Countess Elizabeth Bathory. The game still uses the same game system as the previous Nightmare games, but there is the same array of new Fate cards and Time cards. Also there are many new add-ons to the game like Black Rose cards, a new tombstone sticker (for the Black Rose cards), and a new booklet that describes the rules of Nightmare 4 and the benefits/flaws sections of the game. This game had a whole new change and play factor in it because your characters can actually become vampires or kill a few, if you are lucky. Players who became vampires were measured in power as to how many 'blood' cards they collected out of Fate cards. Also, many Fate cards protected people from vampires and these cards were 'sanctuary' cards. The new Black Rose cards offered a selection of deeds and powers that could only be given by the Countess herself or by Time or Fate cards. The two different types of Black Rose cards are 'pleasure' and 'pain', and there is no telling what lies withing them until you chose yours correctly. The host in this game is the same girl that played the Witch, but as she progresses in time she begins to look more like a human vampire-bat. This game was really fast paced and well played, and remember for when the Countess asks you ,"Indulge me!" you must respond back with ,"Forever my Lady!".
Release Date: 1995
Faust's Rating: 8/10
Well, this game to me as a big surprise when I first saw it. It was a night on October of 1995, and during a commercial break on Beavis and Butthead an advertiser said aloud ," Beavis and Butthead is brought to you by Atmosfear from Mattel!". After i heard that I was wondering what it was about so I watched the commercial and it started with a full moon and a man talking and a few kids playing the game and changing into the Harbingers (the characters of Nightmare). As I watched this my mouth dropped because I thought thay had discontinued the Nightmare games, but as to my sight they remade them into a new and changed game called 'Atmosfear'. This game had a lot of changes as well as gaming potential. I must say that I love the Nightmare series though, but Atmosfear had a playability like i have never seen in any Nightmare game. The gamebox was large and contained the contents of the game which were more advanced than Nightmare's. Instead of its square board Atmosfear had a board that was hexagonal and could be shifted to different color patterns. This center pice which fitted the sections together is called the 'hub'. The characters were no longer tomstones, but they had their own designs for each character piece. Baron Samedi's was a tophat, Anne De Chantraine's was a cauldron, Elizabeth Bathory's was a bat, Khufu's was a snake, Gevaudan's was a tooth, and Hellin's was an alphabet cube. There also game 6 other game pieces that were called 'numbskulls', which were human skulls. When the game tape starts there is a 15 minuts long intro on how to play Atmosfear if you don't feel like reading the rules. You start the game with your old friend the Gatekeeper as your host, and he looks a lot different too. At first you play as a numbskull (skull tokens) and race to a province (colored sections) to become the Harbinger of your choice. When you become a Harbinger you have the power to collect keystones for supernatural powers. Once you collect all 6 six keystones you must race back to the center of the hub where you must open the Well of Fears and face your worst fear. The same as always goes! If you get your fear you start from scratch, or you are declared the winner of the game. Numbskulls who do not manage to become Harbingers within the 10 minute mark become a Soul Ranger, which is a denizen of the province's sewers (reverse side of a province), where they must collect keys by landing on a stone occupied by a Harbinger or other Soul Ranger. You have 60 minutes to collect all 6 keystones and race to the Well of Fears where you face your worst fear in order to win the game. This new expansion was great indeed, but too fast paced.
Release Date: 1995
Faust's Rating: 8/10
Atmosfear - Booster game tape, was not released in stores but on an order form that came with Atmosfear. This game was great, but different from Atmosfear. In this one you only had 45 minutes to play and there was a limit to keystones depending on the number of players there were. For every player there was one less keystone of each color on each province (EX: If there were 6 players there would be 5 keystones of each color on each province. If there were 5 then 4 keystones, ect.).
Release Date: 1995
Faust's Rating: N/A
Atmosfear - Booster game tape II
Release Date: 1995
Faust's Rating: 6/10
Atmosfear - The Third Dimension was the new Atmosfear game that was released for the PC. This game was indeed fun and you could play against the computer. In this one you could choose how long you wanted your game to be as well as set the limits for timed turns. This game was fun, but lacked the popups the Gatekeeper did in Nightmare and Atmosfear. I got this game from our Vice. Pres. Darkwolff, thanks man!
Release Date: 1995
Faust's Rating: N/A
Atmosfear - The Duel Card Game is the most recent game that has come out for Atmosfear. Although, it is not an interactive boardgame it still relates to Atmosfear and is something that I need as well. I heard it's a decent game from Darkwolff.
Release Date: 1996
Faust's Rating: N/A
Atmosfear - The Soul Rangers, is the newest release in the Atmosfear games. I have not played this one yet or even own it, but a few people I do know (including Darkwolff) owns this game. From what I heard about it this game has good playability, but the host (Dr. Mastiff) is a dull character.
